Technical Field
Aspects of the embodiments relate to motorized shades, and more particularly to systems, methods, and modes for a motorized shade, such as a motorized roller shade, that can be actuated by touching its hem bar.
Background Art
Motorized roller shades provide a convenient one-touch control solution for screening windows, doors, or the like, to achieve privacy and thermal effects. A motorized roller shade typically includes a rectangular shade material attached at one end to a cylindrical rotating tube, called a roller tube, and at an opposite end to a hem bar. The shade material is wrapped around the roller tube. An electric motor, either mounted inside the roller tube or externally coupled to the roller tube, rotates the roller tube to unravel the shade material to cover a window.
Motorized roller shades can be controlled in a variety of means. They can be controlled via in-wall switches or keypads or remotely via handheld remotes. Often, however, users prefer a local control of a motorized shade, without requiring connection to a control system or additional control products. Some motorized roller shades allow local control via buttons on the shade controller coupled to the roller shade motor in proximity to the roller tube. However, these buttons may be difficult or impossible to reach and they are non-intuitive.
Another solution exists that utilizes sensors which sense a pull or a tug on the shade or a hem bar to actuate the roller shade to control it locally. However, this solution requires quite a bit of force to pull on the shade or the hem bar and it is slow to react. Additionally, continued pulling on a shade for control can misalign the shade, damage the shade, or loosen tension in a counterbalancing system of the shade, in particularly when the shade is mounted poorly.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a local control of a motorized shade, and more specifically, for a touch actuated motorized shade, such as a motorized roller shade.